Romney: Obama “doesn’t have a clue” when it comes to energy

posted at 2:41 pm on July 24, 2012 by Erika Johnsen

A few weeks back, the Obama administration revealed their five-year plan for oil-and-gas permitting — it was lackluster, to say the least, especially when allowing the private sector to produce wealth and productive jobs by tapping our own highly abundant natural resources would be such an unencumbered way to boost economic growth. So, while President Obama can intentionally retard American ingenuity through executive fiat, those “do-nothing” GOPers were having none of it and wrote up some legislation, the “Congressional Replacement of President Obama’s Energy-Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan” — the title of which sums up pretty much everything you need to know about it. It’s being debated right now and is likely to pass the House this week, but it isn’t likely to pass through the Senate and the White House let it be known yesterday that President Obama would veto the bill if it did happen to make it to his desk. But always remember, guys: Republicans are the ones who don’t care about creating jobs, or something.

These sorts of political shenanigans, especially within the realm of the energy market, are a huge depressant for our economy, and especially frustrating when we can visibly see parts of the country that are drilling for oil and gas going absolutely gangbusters. What he’s done for and against the energy sector is, in my opinion, one of President Obama’s greatest failings, so I’m hoping the Romney camp will do something major with it and get out in front before the Obama campaign can wheel out the theme again.

“As energy prices have risen and our economy continues to struggle, President Obama insists on hindering efforts to expand domestic production and create American jobs,” said Andrea Saul, spokeswoman for Romney, the presumptive GOP White House nominee.

“Whether blocking job-creating initiatives like the Keystone pipeline or wasting taxpayer money on boondoggles like Solyndra, President Obama doesn’t have a clue when it comes to America’s energy future,” she said. …

The House is debating the bill Tuesday and it’s likely to pass Wednesday. It requires Interior Department oil-and-gas leasing off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, which remain off-limits for at least the next five years under the Obama administration’s plans.

I like that they’re calling out his policies at all, but my greater fear is that President Obama really does have a clue. He knows full well that allowing for more drilling leases would end material hardship for a lot of Americans and help diversify our energy portfolio, but he can’t be bothered to institute a real “all of the above” approach because he wants to have his cake and eat it, too (although, of course, he gets to hide beneath the all-too-convenient guise of ostensible environmental friendliness). The fake “all of the above” approach allows him to placate his greenie base and the enormously powerful environmental lobby while still throwing a few bones to the traditional energy industries, and meanwhile he gets to play a few innings of crony capitalism with his administration’s green-energy “investments.” Oh hey, just look who showed up at a swanky Obama fundraiser in California the other day — a couple of major players involved in Everybody’s Favorite Failed DOE-Backed Solar Company!

President Obama rubbed elbows Monday night with two men at the center of the Solyndra loan scandal at an exclusive fundraiser in California.

Steve Westly, a financier whose money-raising prowess helped to snag him a post on the administration’s energy advisory board, and Matt Rogers, a former Energy Department senior adviser who helped to approve the Solyndra loan, were spotted by reporters at the $35,800-per-person fundraiser for the president’s re-election campaign.

Mr. Westly sent warnings to the president not to attend an event at Solyndra’s headquarters in the Bay area because of shaky finances at the solar energy company, which had received a fast-tracked $535 million federal loan guarantee in 2010 as part of the administration’s economic stimulus program. Mr. Rogers was partly responsible for overseeing stimulus awards at the Energy Department.

They were among about 60 wealthy donors who attended the fundraiser at the swanky home of progressive activist Quinn Delaney and real estate developer Wayne Jordan, a big Obama bundler, in Piedmont, Calif., near Oakland.

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